My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 709 - 458: Simply the Best in the World (Parts Combined)_2

Wu Buxu's sword vibrated, the blade resonating with the energy of the two opponents. From his fingertips, it dispersed outward, while Chen Yi couldn't withdraw his hand in time, leaving a faint streak of blood across his palm. The two distanced themselves.

He clenched and then relaxed his fingers toward his palm, wiping the blood away with his fingertips.

"Impressive swordsmanship," Chen Yi said softly.

Wu Buxu smiled faintly and said, "Such a formidable talent the younger generation produces."

Ever since Xu Qi shattered the thunderous sword momentum at Dangyang Lake, Wu Buxu, having refined the energy of The Three Pure Ones, stood atop three sacred grounds of Sword Dao. For nearly two decades, he confined himself to these places, and the higher his expectations of the future of Sword Dao, the deeper his disillusionment had grown. In the end, all that awaited him was half of what he hoped for, leaving not even enough room for true disappointment, only numbness.

He hadn't expected that the man in dark robes, another supposed Xiao Daoping, had somehow experienced an extraordinary fate, leading him to comprehend something new, something different.

That man seemed self-congratulatory as he suddenly asked, "Do I look like a Sword Immortal to you?"

Wu Buxu's aged brows softened, almost giving rise to a smile, and he replied, "From the ground, one who looks at the heavens is merely a frog in a well. From the heavens, one who looks at the ground—what are they but the same?"

He sighed and said, "All my life, these hundred-odd years, I have never held any Sword Immortal in esteem."

Chen Yi seemed dissatisfied. He spun his sword, conjuring a move as dark as a black moon, and again asked, "If I am not a Sword Immortal, then what am I?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The white-haired elder murmured somberly, "Just dried grass looking at dried grass."

It is said that beyond the mountain lies another mountain, and beyond the heavens lies another heaven. After Wu Buxu ascended to the peak, he saw such sayings as meaningless. The king of Sword Dao, the number one under heaven, was already atop the tallest mountain, at the highest heavens. For decades in Jianghu, he remained undefeated, and after his duel with Loulan Sword Emperor, he even began to glimpse the Unity of Heaven and Man. Yet, after ruling supreme for an entire sixty years, he ultimately fulfilled the old adage—truth is unyielding. To those truly in Unity of Heaven and Man, he could not stand against mere grass and crops. Jianghu lamented the generational succession of two champions of the realm, openly stating that if Wu Buxu refused to fight, he was still number one. They were unaware that it wasn't Xu Qi who came to question his sword, but rather he who sought Xu Qi to question it.

Chen Yi did not argue; he merely gazed silently at the heavens.

Then Wu Buxu's next move spoke through his sword. Tree crowns shook, sending countless leaves flying. His steps tapped lightly, and he strode along the falling leaves. Peiran Sword Energy roared into the skies, slashing downward fiercely, whipping up a frenzied gale that churned the ground ten zhang away, tossing stones and wood in its wrath.

Chen Yi countered with his sword, which vibrated violently. Even as he narrowly deflected the devastating Fei Heng Sword, his neck felt a sudden chill as sword energy embedded in the flying leaves swarmed toward him, dense as clouds, almost darkening the skies. Tapping a tree with his foot, his figure spun backward as his sword danced like the moon, shredding the incoming waves of sword energy into fragments. Broken leaves scattered, swirling into chaos, carving dozens of irregular trenches across the terrain!

A cold light, like a rainbow piercing the sun, suddenly emerged from the sword energy Chen Yi was dispersing. The white-haired old man seemed to fuse himself within the swirling leaves, only to erupt with a terrifying killing intent, unmatched in force. Chen Yi halted abruptly and cast his own formidable strike into the oncoming sword momentum.

The sword tips collided, and the surrounding forest exploded outward, creating an empty circle with the two combatants at its center. The diffused sword energy ravaged the earth, reducing wood and stone to powder, leaving nothing but a muddled shade of deep green.

The sound of clashing steel belatedly reverberated throughout the heavens and earth, roaring into the wind. The two figures separated once more under the force of the tremor.

Wu Buxu gazed forward solemnly. Chen Yi's hair danced wildly in the turbulence, as leaves scattered around. His silhouette amidst the deep green grew increasingly imposing, like a painting expanding wide…

A towering mountain.

The white-haired elder gripped his sword, seeming years younger, murmuring, "I have come to see a mountain."

Since his clash with the true Unity of Heaven and Man Xu Qi at Dangyang Lake, he had gone far too long without truly knowing what it meant to see a mountain.

Wu Buxu advanced once more, his figure floating upward. His movements lacked refined swordsmanship, devoid of any technical prowess, resembling the clumsy first steps of a novice wielding a sword. His footing staggered as if each move might trip him, and yet his sword intent surged, growing higher and higher until it reached the peak.

Chen Yi's expression remained unchanged as he strode forward, sword at the ready.

He would make the old man stop.

Because mountains must inspire awe.

The two converged nearly simultaneously upon the same spot.

No words were spoken, no unnecessary movements made; one sword arrived first, and the other followed shortly after.

Wu Buxu and Chen Yi's figures crossed, their sword blades cutting through spaces unknown, as though carving a profound wound. At the same time, Wu Buxu felt a sudden heat in his abdomen.

The elder turned back around, his steps briefly hesitating before erupting violently.

In the span of less than a blink, Hou Kang Sword pierced from beneath his ribs, the crossing of energy sharp and acute. The man's footwork tapped multiple times, vanishing and reappearing in rapid succession. Wu Buxu's chest heaved like a bellows, breathing deeply, while Chen Yi's figure seemed omnipresent. And so, the elder's sword relentlessly pursued, casting countless shadows as the blade unleashed itself in a chaotic frenzy, nearly blotting out the skies, crossing hundreds and thousands of times in mere moments.

Their clash grew ever faster, the swordsmanship untraceable, transcending any particular style as the forest beneath them was shattered, deep greens diffusing outward like ink spilling over parchment.

Wu Buxu's sword intent remained unyielding, showing not a trace of wavering. On the contrary, it fought with greater vigor—the momentum swelling to a level beyond the imaginable.

How many seasons had passed? How many years since he had last questioned the sword so passionately, so completely?

The world only saw his defeat to Xu Qi as a descent into madness, but they failed to realize that from that despair, a near-rebirth had emerged in his sword intent. At that juncture, the notion of 'becoming one with the sword' was but hollow rhetoric; only deep, profound despair held meaning.

In Wu Buxu's eyes, there was only the sword—always only the sword. Yet, no matter how completely he achieved Unity of Heaven and Man, he could never reach Xu Qi's realm!

Now, however, he saw something different—a vision he sought to challenge.

He watched as Chen Yi's figure blurred more often, disappearing repeatedly, and manifesting less and less frequently—like a flickering candle perilously near extinction. The more Wu Buxu struck, the less tangible the figure became.

Wu Buxu's breathing grew heavier, yet his sword never paused. He was questioning the sword, questioning that elusive truth.